Next Road Trip – Texas (Known unknowns and planning)

Since I have the option to live on the road, I want to live on the road.  For the time being though I’m spending time with my Dad; to help him with things and enjoy his company.  No one knows how long their loved ones will be around so reserving time for them now seems like a good thing.  Fortunately being retired and mobile gives me that option. 

However, being a resident of Texas requires making periodic trips back home to… register vehicles and see if the state is still there and worth living in.  :-).  My next road trip is scheduled for sometime in May this year.  While there I’ll take care of business and then head further east to see friends and family.  While living in South Carolina I made some good friends and my daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons live in Virginia… there are a lot of places to go, people to see, and things to do.

The challenges this trip are the known unknowns.  For example, will a trailer safety inspection done in May be valid when the registration is not due until August?  Maybe I can register the trailer early; this is an unknown, but will be resolved I’m sure.  Another challenge; my daughter wants to rent a motorhome and drive cross country with me on my return trip from the East Coast.  The unknowns are the travel coordination with her and accommodations while on the road.  I usually play it by ear, the day of, as to where I will stop on any given night.  If I chose wrong, the only one impacted is me.  This time there will be six other people.  The final known unknown is what sites we will take in during the trip.  We are taking a more northerly route west so the Black Hills, Devils Tower, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Park are options.  I’ve been to all of them except Glacier.  As we get closer to go-time, these too will be resolved and other options may be explored.

I learned a long time ago that I detest over-planning. I managed IT projects for several years and it was always a chore and losing sleep was a regular occurrence.  During my career I’ve taken a number of personality tests; Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, etc. and learned that I am not the type of person that enjoys planning. But, I did learn my 5Ps; Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.  So, I do just enough travel planning to prevent a really poor performance.  On a positive note; bad trips make the best stories!

I have not mentioned yet the biggest challenge though; the unknown unknowns.  For these, I bring along the most important tools:

• A can-do attitude and spirit of adventure
• An assortment of tools
• My AAA card
• Lots of $$$

Until next time…